Sports

BOXING: Canelo, a fan favorite

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East LAâs De La Hoya had been ruling the boxing world as the No.1 gate attraction for years. Beginning in 1996, when De La Hoya collided with Mexicoâs Julio Cesar Chavez, the âGolden Boyâ began a run as the top gate receipt star that did not expire until he formally retired in 2008.

When De La Hoya agreed to fight Mayweather on May 5, 2007, he was the WBC junior middleweight champion after knocking out Nicaraguaâs Ricardo âEl Matadorâ Mayorga in spectacular fashion. Mayorga had disparaged the De La Hoyas publicly and made sexual remarks about De La Hoyaâs wife. That led to a brutal display of the East LA fighterâs bad side. He showed no mercy in stomping out Mayorga in six rounds. It was a perfect segue for a fight with the undefeated Mayweather.

Mayweather had never cracked the top 20 for gate receipts in Nevada. When the fight was announced, they opened a cross country press tour in Hollywood on the front steps of the Graumanâs Chinese Theater. Hundreds of reporters showed up and the crowds spilled into the streets. It was an eye-popping indicator of the publicâs interest.

A packed crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena brought in more than $18.4 million, a record at the time. Mayweather defeated De La Hoya in a close fight by split decision. The real knockout was the television pay-per-views that were seen in more than 2.5 million households. It was a staggering amount that broke the 2 million pay-per-view record set by Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson in 1997.

âWeâre hoping to break that record,â said Richard Schaefer, CEO for Golden Boy Promotions. âIt could be the biggest fight of all time.â

One reason Schaefer and others think itâs possible to attain that record-setting pay-per-view achievement is the emergence of Alvarez as a star attraction.

When Mayweather signed to fight Victor Ortiz in Las Vegas in Sept. 2011, Golden Boy Promotions inked Alvarez to fight Alfonso Gomez in Los Angeles on the same date. Though Alvarezâs fight card was not a sold-out crowd, more than 8,000 attended Staples Center on the same day Mayweatherâs fight attracted 12,000 at the MGM Grand.

âCanelo has an amazing ability to attract fans and not just boxing fans,â said television executive Stephen Espinoza of Showtime.

That public appeal is one of the main reasons Mayweather agreed to meet Alvarez. The other is Alvarez can handle himself in the boxing ring.

THE ONE

Alvarez has a certain calmness as if heâs lived as a monk in a mountainside monastery for most of his young life. Only while inside a boxing ring does he exhibit the flaming intensity thatâs carried him to 42 victories without a loss.

A win over Mayweather would jet the redheadâs appeal to superstar status and surely establish Alvarezâs legend. But beating the current Pound- for-Pound king has been a mountain too high to climb for many of the best prizefighters for nearly two decades.

âWhen people tell me, you know youâre fighting Canelo,â said Mayweather to a crowd of more than 10,000 in Los Angeles in July. âI tell them can you name 10 world champions that he beat? Just 10. Thatâs all I ask. Iâve been sitting on the top of the throne for 17 years.â

After hearing Mayweather speak on the tour and hearing from various reporters about the Las Vegas fighterâs previous exploits, the redhead simply points out that nobody stays on top forever. He also adds that every megastar from Julio Cesar Chavez to Oscar De La Hoya had to prove his talent against competition much like Mayweather.

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